Norse mythology has always been a rich source of entertainment. The adventures of ancient gods and goddesses still have the power to thrill and inspire. That fact was certainly proven once again in 2003 when Microgaming’s new five-reel, nine-payline online slot game called “Thunderstruck” debuted with the mighty God of Thunder, Thor, as its central character. It was quickly named “Slot Machine of the Year.”

The original Thunderstruck slot features the traditional card symbols, Tens through Aces, which pay out whenever three or more match on an active payline. It also has twist in that the card symbol Nine rewards a line bet multiplier of 2X for just two matching symbols

Higher awards can be won with three or more Horns, Storms or Gates of Asgard lined up, and still higher rewards come from combinations of two or more symbols for Hand Grip or Mjolnir, Thor’s incredibly powerful hammer. Rams are the scatter symbol and Thor himself is the game’s wild, substituting for any symbol except the Rams scatter, and he doubles the line win. Five Thor symbols on a payline awards the top prize of 10,000X. Other winning combinations pay from 2X to 2,000X.

Thunderstruck slots feature credit denominations ranging from €0.01 to €1.00, with betting of 1 to 5 credits per line up to a maximum bet of €45. The value of each credit is adjustable by clicking on the +/- toggles under the second reel. To start the game, click “Spin.” Winnings appear by clicking the View Payout button below the reels, while Credits available show in the lower left corner and Total Bet is displayed below reels four and five. Use of the Autoplay allows repetition of 5 or 10 bets and can be accessed by clicking on the “Expert” toggle to change modes.

Catching 2, 3, 4 or 5 Scattered Rams pays a multiplier of the total bet at rates of 2X, 5X, 20X or 500X, respectively. Whenever three or more Scattered Rams appear, the bonus round of 15 Free Spins is initiated. During the Free Spins mode, all line wins are tripled and the bonus may be retriggered for potentially limitless free games. There is also a Gamble feature that can be accessed after any win in the regular slot mode, allowing wins to be doubled by forecasting the color of a hidden card, red or black, or quadrupled by correctly predicting the card’s suit.

The great success of Thunderstruck slots motivated Microgaming to release a sequel in 2010, Thunderstruck II, with Thor joined by some additional characters—Odin, Loki and Valkyrie. The new version has five reels like its predecessor, but this time the number of possible paylines has been boosted to an incredible 243 ways to win on every spin. Subsequently, the credit denominations available were reduced to just €0.01 to €005.

Winning combinations start with matches of three or more card symbols, Nines through Aces, followed by higher payouts for lining up three or more symbols for the Viking Ship, Asgard Gates, Valkyrie, Loki, Odin or Thor. The payouts range from 2X to 500X on line bets. In this game, Mjolnir replaces the Rams as the scatter symbol, paying 1X, 2X, 20X or 200X for 2, 3, 4, or 5 appearances anywhere on the reels. The Thunderstruck II Logo is wild, substituting for any symbol except the scatter and doubling the line win.

When three or more Scattered Mjolnirs land anywhere on the reels, entry into the Great Hall of Spins is awarded, and multiple entries unlock further bonus features. In the Valkyrie Round, the maiden of Valhalla delivers 10 retriggering free spins plus a generous 5x multiplier. In the Loki Round, god of mischief affords 15 free spins plus an animated burst of lightning if the Wild Magic feature triggers and random symbols are instantly transformed into additional wilds.

In the Odin Round, ruler of Asgard gives 20 free spins while his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, fly to random symbols and convert them into 2X and 3X wild multipliers. In the Thor Round, the god of thunder offers 25 free spins along with a special Rolling Reels feature at a multiplier of up to 5X.

Although there is no Gamble feature in the Thunderstruck II format, there is one additional bonus—the randomly triggered Wildstorm feature. It can occur at any time, turning up to five entire reels full of symbols wild.

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